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According to BBC News, the team from Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) and Surrey Space Centre (SSC) have not yet determined the model of phone that will be used, but whatever it is will cost less than $450 and run Google's Android OS. The team chose Android because it's an open-source software that can be easily programmed to perform different functions.
"We're not taking it apart; we're not gutting it; we're not taking out the printed circuit boards and re-soldering them into our satellite -- we're flying it as is," Shaun Kenyon, project manager at SSTL, told the BBC. To protect it from heat and radiation, the phone will be encased within the satellite, which is about one foot long, with a hole cut out for the camera's lens. Once the satellite is in orbit, an on-board computer will make sure the phone is functioning before ceding total control to the mobile device, which will send images and data back to Earth via the satellite's radio system.
Most of the electronic components currently used on spacecrafts are very pricey, and take lots of time to be modified for a specific purpose. But, if a smartphone or a similar device could be used instead, the cost of space missions could be slightly lowered. Of course, we wonder about the probability of this mission's success -- since it seems like our cell phones crap out when the wind changes directions or the sun stops shining.
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